Learning English - Ask Misterduncan - 2

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Hi everybody, this is Misterduncan in England. How are you today? Are you OK? I hope so! Are you happy? I hope so! Welcome to another edition of "Ask Misterduncan'. I'm so glad you could join me once again. Each week I will pick out some of your e-mail questions and hopefully answer them right here. So let's get on with our first question for today.

What is the difference between 'by me' and 'by myself'? This question comes from Dario in Italy. I guess you are referring to something you have done or created. In this type of sentence the meaning is very similar. 'By me' means I did it and 'By myself' means I did it all alone, without any help. Both sentences refer to just you! 'This dress was designed by me.' ' I designed this dress by myself.' Of course we can also say... 'This dress is my design.' Remember also that 'by myself' means... 'I'm alone!' Thank you Dario for the question and for the beautiful photos of your hometown of... Palermo.

How do I speak English with confidence and speed and who do I practice with? These questions were sent in by Fozya in Saudi Arabia, Hicham in Italy, and Tom from Laos in South East Asia. I have grouped these questions together as they are common ones. To speak any language, you need to feel comfortable doing it. To do anything confidently, you need to tell yourself that you can do it. Building confidence takes time. Try recording your voice and then listening to it. Get used to the sound of your own voice. Look at yourself in the mirror while speaking. Watch your mouth as you say the words. It may feel strange at first, but as you get used to seeing yourself using English, then your nervousness should over time, fade away.

To improve the speed of your speech, you need to have some sentences written down, which you must read out-load regularly. Start of by saying each word slowly. Then each time you repeat the sentence, do it a little quicker... a little faster. See how many times you can repeat it before you have to stop. Practising speaking fast is also a good way of building your confidence. Don't forget to have fun while doing it. Here is a great passage to practice with...

Every day and every nightI speak out loud without a frightMy words are clear, my speech is strongNow I hardly ever go wrongThe more I do, the more I knowMy English skills will grow and grow.

Write that down and try repeating it, as fast as you can!

So you can practice English almost anywhere and at any time. It is up to you! Of course a common problem is having no other person to practice with. Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, we now have many opportunities to share our love of English with others. Social sites, such as 'Facebook' and 'Bebo' and live-link software, such as Skype, Windows Live, and Yahoo messenger are allowing people to get together online and actually talk to each other. Many computer users are creating organised forums and interactive websites, which allow people from different nations to express and share their love of the English language.

How do I use 'i-n-g'? How do I use prepositions? When do I use phrasal verbs? These three questions come from Vinicious in Brazil. For today I will answer one of those questions. I N G or the "ing' sound comes at the end of words that define an action. For example, with verbs such as... walk... talk... wave and sit. He is walking. She is talking. They are waving. I am sitting. The action is happening at that moment. It is raining. Now it is snowing.